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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Did Sloane Stephens fail media training?

One of the
plusses of being a top male tennis player is the requirement that you submit to
media training. The ATP has been pretty open about
the fact that they train tennis stars on how to handle the media and themselves
appropriately.

I’ve
always assumed that the WTA offers a similar service for the women. But after
reading the fiasco that was Sloane Stephens’ latest ESPN interview, I have to
wonder if the problem is that the WTA does not offer this service, or whether
Sloane was just a dunce in media class. There are no other explanations for her
abject stupidity.

For
a start, let’s get real. Sloane Stephens beat an INJURED Serena in Australia
earlier this year. Serena was hobbled by a twisted ankle and severe back
spasms. She posted a picture of the swollen ankle lest there be any doubts as
to why she lost to Sloane. You would think that this would have tempered Stephens’
celebration of her win.

Instead, Sloane revealed herself to be a kind of hypocrite. Mere
weeks earlier, after losing to Serena in Brisbane, Sloane had this to say about
her opponent: “She's so sweet…I love her. Obviously she's been a really great
influence in my tennis career...Obviously I always was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I
love her to death. She's amazing, whatever. Now she's like an actual person and
I'm like, 'Oh, hi. How is it going?' She's not like a hero anymore. She's just
a friend.”

As it should be. Because for every up-and-coming player of
color, Serena and her sister Venus will forever be the ones that paved the way.
Thank goodness they had each other in the locker room because no one spoke to
them. Thank goodness for parents who loved and protected them because no one
else did. And with their pain and sacrifice, they paved the way for the likes
of Sloane.

But instead of graciously acknowledging this, Sloane chose to
tell ESPN about a grudge she has held against the Sisters since she was 12. She
and her family had waited all day for the Williams sisters to sign their
posters but never got the desired autographs. A clearly delusional and
narcissistic Sloane then proceeds to bash the Sisters, while apparently ignoring her mother's attempts at restraint:

‘“Yes! The people need to know! I waited all day. They walked by
three times and never signed our posters…I hung it up for a while. I was, like,
devastated because they didn't sign it, whatever, and then after that I was
over it. I found a new player to like because I didn't like them anymore.” The
new player? Kim Clijsters.

Wow. I don’t know where to begin with this ungrateful biyatch.

Sloane has since seemed to come to some modicum of awareness.
She offered a retraction via Twitter: “Guilty of being naive. Much respect 4 ‪@serenawilliams , a champ
& the GOAT. We spoke, we're good. ONWARD! ‪#lifelessons”.
Not bad from a dunce.

But here is Serena’s simply brilliant response to ESPN’s
revelations: “I don’t really know.
I don’t have many thoughts. I’m a big Sloane Stephens fan and always have been.
I’ve always said that I think she can be the best in the world. I’ll always
continue to think that and always be rooting for her.”

See
Sloane? That’s how it’s done. When you’re the best, you don’t have to engage
with ungrateful immature fools.

5 comments:

1. Share everything.2. Play fair.3. Don't hit people.4. Put things back where you found them.5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.6. Don't take things that aren't yours.7. Say you're SORRY when you HURT somebody.8. Wash your hands before you eat.9. Flush.10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.12. Take a nap every afternoon.13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first workd you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.”